A Modern Pride and Prejudice Tale
by elizabethday
Summary: Elizabeth and Jane Bennet are students in college, and circumstances bring the two into contact with a Mr. Bingley and a Mr. Darcy. Will the sisters fall in love, or will they face heartbreak and disappointment?
1. Chapter 1

chapter 1

Elizabeth Bennet was finishing curling her sister's long blonde hair before they headed out that night. She and her oldest sister, Jane, were going to a fraternity party. It was the beginning of her first semester at college, and her sister's second year. Elizabeth had never been to a party like this, so she was very excited, but didn't know what to expect.

"Elizabeth, should I wear the blue silk top with the skinny black jeans, or should I wear the black dress?" Jane asked as she finished putting her earrings in.

"Umm, I would have to say the blue. It really brings out the blue in your eyes. Do I look okay?" Elizabeth asked. Her long brown hair fell in waves around her face and her green eyes were framed by thick eyelashes. She was wearing a black lace shirt with nice jeans and heels, an outfit that made her already slim body look even slimmer.

"Absolutely stunning. You ready?" They both grabbed their purses and headed out of the sorority house. They were both in Kappa Alpha Theta, which was wonderful because the sisters were so close.

They met up with a few of their friends before going to the fraternity house. When they arrived, Elizabeth was shocked by the number of people crammed into the hallways and the amount of beer flowing.

"Come on girls!" Elizabeth's best friend Charlotte practically dragged her and Jane into the house. Charlotte was considered rather plain with straight sandy blonde hair and gray eyes, but her personality more than made up for the lack of beauty. They picked their way through the crowded hallway and met up with some more of their friends.

"Lizzy! Charlotte! Grab a drink!" Andrew was a good friend of the two, but he did not exercise the same restraint they did when it came to alcohol. It was 11:30 and he was already swaying on his feet.

"Andrew! You know better than that! It's not even midnight and you're already drunk! How many have you had?" Elizabeth exclaimed, only to be surprised when Charlotte took the cup from the hand of her tall, skinny friend.

"Lighten up Lizzy," he slurred before making his way back to the keg.

"Yeah! Come on Lizzy! Just one little drink!" shouted her friend Carol as she tried to shove a red cup in Elizabeth's hand.

What am I doing here? thought Elizabeth as she left to try and find her sister. She had to wedge herself between the throngs of people and a couple of times she had to swat guy's hands away as they made a grab for her.

"Jane. There you are," she sighed in relief. She finally found Jane in one of the bedrooms. Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised to find her talking with a cute boy.

"Lizzy! Meet Charley Bingley. He's a senior here and studying International Business," Jane introduced the boy she was talking to as he stood up to shake Elizabeth's hand.

"Charley it is very nice to meet you. I'm Elizabeth." She quickly took in the appearance of the man. He was tall and lanky, with red hair and freckles. Despite his coloring, Elizabeth found him very attractive.

"Elizabeth, the pleasure is all mine. I've just been talking to your sister about her classes this semester. How have yours been so far?" Elizabeth was shocked that a frat boy could be so well mannered. The three of them spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know one another. Charley told them that he grew up in South Carolina and that his father owned a plantation. He played basketball and football in high school and ran track in college. He told them about his friends and his sister and his pets. He essentially told them his life story without taking his eyes off Jane.

At one point they were interrupted by a very drunk Charlotte, dragging along a rather pudgy, plain looking man.

"Girls, this is Jacob and he said he wants to marry me." Charlotte was very far gone.

"Jacob Collins, don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?" joked Charley.

"Bingley! These is two very pretty girls you've got here. Whats is yours names?" he slurred.

"I'm Jane and this is my sister Elizabeth," replied Jane politely. Elizabeth could only look at him with disdain, but Jane was incapable of being anything but kind.

At that moment, Charlotte ran to a trashcan and began throwing up. Elizabeth held her hair back and then decided the three should return home. They said goodbye to Charley and Jacob and others that had been in their group before making their way back to the sorority house. They were halfway there when they heard someone running behind them.

"Jane," panted Charley, "I meant to ask you if I could see you again. Could I get your number?''

Jane blushed, but it was hidden by the darkness. "Of c-course," she stammered before reciting her cell phone number.

"Great!" Charley's smile consumed his entire face. "I'll talk to you soon!"

Elizabeth and Jane got Charlotte to her room and then spent the rest of the night giggling and talking about the very handsome Charley Bingley.

The first semester flew by. Elizabeth was adjusting to the college life and Jane was quickly falling in love. She and Charley spent most of their time together and went on numerous dates. They did the typical dinner and a movie, and they went to parties together. One day he took her on a picnic and the next night she attempted to make him dinner. It didn't turn out very well, because Jane's culinary skills were lacking, but he comforted her by telling her it was the fun to just spend time with her. They went to church together and spent countless hours talking about the Jesus they both so dutifully followed. He told her his dreams of becoming a successful businessman and she told him about her desire to be a wife and mother. Despite their growing relationship, she was surprised when he invited her to South Carolina to spend Christmas on his parents' plantation. She agreed on the condition that Elizabeth come as well.


	2. Chapter 2

chapter 2

The moment finals were over, Charley drove over to the sorority house to pick up Jane and Elizabeth.

"Jane, he's here," Elizabeth yelled as she looked out the window to see his black Mercedes sedan. "And my goodness, he has a nice car. His family must do well. Aren't you ready yet?"

Jane was known for overpacking and running late, unlike Elizabeth who didn't need much. Finally, Jane grabbed her two large suitcases and Elizabeth grabbed her single bag and they headed downstairs.

"Hey there, Beautiful," Charley said as he kissed his girlfriend and grabbed her bags. Elizabeth could see that he was glowing. She decided it must be a very big deal for him to bring Jane to meet his parents.

As Elizabeth lugged her own bag to the car, her only thought was that she hoped her sister was well received by the rest of the Bingley family.

The flight from Texas to South Carolina was around five hours. Elizabeth spent the time re-reading her favorite book, Little Women, and thinking. She would have gladly taken a nap, but it was impossible due to the man snoring on one side of her and a boy's music on the other side.

Jane and Charley had better luck. They were sitting together with a sleeping woman on Jane's left. The couple spent their time quietly whispering or reading the magazines they had bought at the airport.

When they arrived, Charley led the two women to grab their luggage. As they were waiting, they were met by a very distinguished-looking middle-aged man and a very fashionable, severe looking, young woman.

"Charley, my boy!" the man, Elizabeth assumed was Mr. Bingley, grabbed Charley's hand and shook it affectionately. "We sure have missed you. And what lovely young ladies! You must be Jane. We've heard so much about you. And I'm assuming you are Elizabeth."

He had a charming southern accent and Elizabeth liked him immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Bingley. It is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for having us to your home for the holidays." Elizabeth couldn't help but admire the ease with which Jane met her boyfriend's father.

"Jane, Elizabeth, meet my sister, Caroline." Charley introduced us to the other woman. She was tall and slender, almost sickeningly skinny. Her blonde hair was curled around her face and her makeup was heavily done. She was wearing very classy clothes, including a Louis Vuitton bag and Christian Louboutin heels.

"Caroline, your brother has told me so much about you!" Jane grabbed her into a hug, but quickly let go when she felt Caroline stiffen.

"Yeah, you too," she replied cooly. "Dad, should we go? I'm sure mom is waiting to see Charley."

"Quite right!" Mr. Bingley exclaimed. They followed him to a Lexus SUV and started on their way to the plantation.

The hour drive was not fun for the women in the car. Charley and his dad talked the entire way, about friends and business and who knows what else. Caroline was far less friendly than her dad and brother and spent the majority of the time texting. This left Jane and Elizabeth in an awkward silence.

Finally, they came upon a large white house and the sisters gasped in surprise. The house was stunning; it looked like it came out of a movie. Large white columns stood in front and a porch wrapped all the way around the house. Vines made their way up a portion of the house and Elizabeth could see gardens that she was sure would boast a plethora of flowers come springtime.

"Well, girls, welcome to Netherfield!" Mr. Bingley exclaimed.

As they were getting out of the car and grabbing their bags from the trunk, a beautiful woman impeccably dressed rushed out of the house.

"Charley! You're home!" she grasped him in a crushing hug. "How was the trip? Did finals go well? I can't believe you are one semester away from graduating! Oh! Please excuse me. This must be Jane." She talked a mile a minute. "My, you are lovely dear. And you must be Elizabeth. We are so grateful to have you in our home."

Jane smiled. "I am so thankful to be here."

"You girls are probably exhausted. Let me show you to your rooms. You boys grab their bags will you?"

She grabbed each of their hands and led them through the front door. The interior was just as beautiful as the exterior. It was tastefully decorated in cremes and whites. They followed her up the stairs and she turned into one of the rooms.

"Jane, this will be your room." She informed her.

"Mrs. Bingley, you have been more than generous in allowing both me and my sister to come spend the holidays with your family. Elizabeth can sleep in my room. We don't want to be anymore trouble." Jane was always thinking of others beside herself.

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Bingley exclaimed. "It is no trouble at all!"

Jane thanked her as she glanced around the large room. It was decorated in white antique furniture and blue fabrics. She thought it one of the prettiest rooms she had ever seen.

She unpacked her bags and freshened up while Mrs. Bingley led Elizabeth to her room.

"Here you are my dear," she said as she opened the door to the next room.

At one glance, Elizabeth loved the room. It had large windows on the south wall with beautiful pink drapes. The walls were white, and there was white furniture, with more pink fabric. Mrs. Bingley left her alone to get ready for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

chapter 3

"Elizabeth, what should I wear for dinner?" asked Jane, pacing around her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. She was starting to worry about spending time with the family.

"Jane. My gosh, you've got to calm down!" Elizabeth reprimanded. "Why don't you wear your black skirt with black tights and your red sweater?"

"Oh! That'll be perfect!" She rushed off to change as Elizabeth changed into her own outfit: a gray sweater dress with leggings and flats.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on her door.

"Elizabeth, dinner's ready!" Jane called.

Elizabeth opened the door to find Jane and Charley holding hands, waiting for her to join them.

The three headed to the dining room where they found Mr. and Mrs. Bingley, Caroline, and a man that Elizabeth didn't know.

"Darcy! What are you doing here?" Charley rushed to the strange man and shook his hand enthusiastically.

"Well, Bingley, Georgiana is spending Christmas with friends, and when your parents found out I was alone for the holidays they invited me." Elizabeth used this time to appraise Mr. Darcy.

He looked to be in his late twenties- six or seven years older than Charley. He was very tall and muscular, with broad shoulders. Mr. Darcy was dressed in khaki pants and a nice collared shirt. Elizabeth assumed the clothes to be designer. He had a very strong jawline and other strong facial features. The most striking thing was his shockingly blue eyes. All in all, Elizabeth found him very attractive, but there was something about him that made her dislike him. In fact, Bingley's affection for the man surprised her, because the stern, haughty look on Mr. Darcy's face was in sharp contrast to Bingley's friendly attitude.

"Darcy, let me introduce you to my girlfriend Jane Bennet, and her younger sister, Elizabeth. Jane, Elizabeth, this is my best friend William Darcy." William offered a small smile to the two. Elizabeth found his eyes lingering on her as he acknowledged her.

"Jane, Bingley has told me much about you. Elizabeth, I have not heard hardly anything about you, but it's nice to meet you nonetheless."

"William, it's very nice to meet you," said Jane. "Charley told me you were childhood friends?"

"Yes ma'am."

Jane didn't know how to continue a conversation that he obviously didn't want to continue, so she looked to Charley for help.

"Darcy and I had some wonderful adventures," he laughed, "most of which you will never hear about!"

"William, tell me about Georgiana. I do love that girl. I want to take her shopping soon." Caroline interrupted. Elizabeth immediately realized Caroline's crush on the dashing William Darcy.

"Georgiana is doing very well, Caroline. Unfortunately, I don't get to spend much time with her. She is still attending that boarding school in California."

"Gosh! That's so far away!" Caroline exclaimed. "What on earth made you send her there?"

Elizabeth noticed an angry look in Mr. Darcy's eyes at the insinuation that he sent his sister away. "Actually, she begged me to attend the school. If I had my way she would be attending a private school at home."

"William, where do you call home?" Jane inquired.

"Well, I spend as much time as possible on my ranch in Texas, it's called Pemberley. However, business requires me to also reside in New York City and London."

"Darcy here, inherited his father's trading company. He has built it into a very successful international business," interrupted Mr. Bingley. "In fact, I wish he was helping me run my business!"

"Oh William, I don't know how you do it! I'm sure there is an incredible amount of work that goes into running your business. Not many men could do it, I'm sure." Caroline resumed her flirting, much to the amusement of Elizabeth and the apparent chagrin of Darcy.

"Jane, Elizabeth, what does your father do?" Mrs. Bingley asked.

"He is a janitor at the local middle school. And my mother is a math teacher at the same school." Jane replied.

Everyone stared, causing both girls to blush.

"Wow. And to be able to support two daughters and put both through college, that's very impressive," Mrs. Bingley attempted to end the awkward silence.

"Actually, we also have three younger sisters," Elizabeth told the dinner party.

"You mean to tell me that your parents have been supporting five girls on such a small salary?" William asked in bewilderment. "I can't imagine they were able to provide well enough."

Elizabeth bristled at the comment. There was no reason for these wealthy business owners to think any less of her parents.

"They provided quite well, thank you. And if I do say so myself, they raised the five of us very well. Jane and I both earned full ride scholarships. I'm not sure that our sisters will fare so well, but hopefully they will still be able to obtain a college education. In my experience, people with more money do not always have so warm a home and wonderful parents."

Charley laughed. "Well said, Lizzy! Now, Dad, how is the cotton growing?"

Elizabeth was very thankful that Charley changed the subject, and Darcy hardly said another word the rest of the night. She noticed that he wouldn't even look at her and it lowered her opinion of him even more.

They spent the rest of the night playing spades and poker. Jane surprised everyone by dominating at poker and she made Charley quite proud. Around midnight, they all retired to their rooms, exhausted.


	4. Chapter 4

chapter 4

The next few days were spent relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Except, of course, Darcy and Caroline. Neither Jane nor Elizabeth liked to spend time with them.

The Bingley's had a stable full of horses, so two days before Christmas Charley, Jane, Elizabeth, Darcy, and Caroline rode around the property in the bitter cold. Jane and Elizabeth wore jeans and heavy coats, whereas the others rode proper riding clothes. The sisters had ridden few times before, but they enjoyed it. Darcy, Charley, and Caroline, on the other hand, were good horsemen and made the two girls rather self conscious. Nonetheless, they went out all together.

Darcy took the lead, followed by Elizabeth and Caroline. Despite Elizabeth's dislike of the two, she stayed up with them to give Charley and Jane time alone together. They were trailing in the back and laughing at something.

Darcy broke the silence. "So Elizabeth, you're at the same college with Jane and Bingley?"

"Yes. Did you go to college, William?"

"Of course Will went to college!" Caroline exclaimed condescendingly. "What a silly question. Only lazy people don't go to college. He's brilliant. In fact, he went to Oxford in England."

"Well, excuse me," Elizabeth retorted. "From where I come from, not all men go to college. And those men are some of the greatest men I know; not a single one of them is lazy either."

"What are you studying, Elizabeth?" Mr. Darcy cut in.

"I am studying elementary education, with a minor in history. Of course, someone like you doesn't think that will provide an adequate income."

"On the contrary. I think it is a very good supplemental income. I am assuming you are simultaneously working on your MRS degree?"

Caroline giggled. "That's what I was there for. Of course, no one there was up to my standards," she giggled again, batting her eyelashes at Darcy.

Lizzy, on the other hand, was very offended. "Are you implying that I am looking to get married for financial security? How dare you!"

"Do you mean to tell me that a woman in your position would not eye a man's financial standing?" Darcy contradicted.

"That is exactly what I mean to tell you! I would marry for nothing less than love, if you have to know." Lizzy was furious now. "If I had to raise ten kids on a janitor's salary, and yet I loved him, I would be able to survive. God would provide. I'm quite amazed that you would ever think that of me. Especially since you don't even know me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll return back to the house." With that, Elizabeth turned her horse back towards the stables.

"Lizzy, where are you going?" Jane asked, concerned that something was wrong with her sister.

"I've got a bit of a headache. Nothing to worry about, but I think I'm going to lie down for awhile," she glared at Darcy. "I'll see you guys at dinner."

As she was riding she thought back on William Darcy.

"What a rude, insensitive man he is!" she thought. "I have never met someone so arrogant and prideful. If you ask me, he and Caroline are meant for each other." She was so busy fuming that she didn't realize how fast her horse was going. All of a sudden there was a large tree branch in front of her face and before she realized it, it had knocked her out of the saddle and everything went black.

An hour later, the rest of the riding party had returned to the house. Mrs. Bingley met them in the kitchen with an afternoon snack.

"Did you guys have a nice time?" she asked.

"Oh it was just marvelous!" exclaimed Jane. "You have such beautiful property. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And my horse, Pepper, I believe, was precious."

"I'm glad you had a nice time, dear. Where is your sister?"

"She came back before us, saying she had a headache," replied Darcy.

"I must have missed her. Jane, will you go check on her? If she needs anything, please don't hesitate to ask," said Mrs. Bingley.

"I will go right now, thank you very much." Jane rushed upstairs to check on her sister.

"Lizzy?" she called as she entered the bedroom. "Lizzy?" She looked all over the room and in the bathroom and her sister was nowhere to be found.

"Charley," she called down the stairs, "Lizzy isn't in her room."

Charley could detect a hint of worry in the girl's voice, and quickly replied, "She must be in the house somewhere. Did you look in the other rooms?"

The four young people quickly searched the house for Elizabeth and she was nowhere to be found.

Jane grew pale. "What if something happened on her way back? Charley, did you notice if her horse was back in the stables?"

Charley was becoming more and more concerned. "I didn't notice."

"Jane, you and Caroline go shower and rest, get warmed up," Darcy took charge, his face masked with no emotion. "Bingley and I will saddle up the horses and go find your sister."

Jane gave him a wane smile and thanks before heading to her own room. Caroline huffed that she wasn't to be included in the search, but went to her room as well.

Unknown to any of the others, Darcy was deeply concerned. Elizabeth was outraged by their conversation, and he thought it very likely that her emotions had overridden her good judgement when she was riding. He had a bad feeling in the bottom of his gut that something had happened to Elizabeth. The weather was only going to make things worse. It was already lightly snowing, weather that South Carolina never saw.

He and Charley saddled up their horses and headed out along trails that she could have taken. An hour later, it had started snowing in earnest and neither of the men had found the girl. Darcy was becoming more and more distressed when he saw a flash of red on the side of the road. It was her red coat!

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" he shouted. "Charley! I found her!"

She was unconscious, but breathing steadily, and he immediately checked her pulse. It was weak and thready.

Charley rode up and gasped at what he saw.

"Charley, call your mom and tell her to call a doctor immediately. See if he can come to the house. I'd rather not have to take her anywhere. Help me get her up on the horse."

Darcy got onto his horse, and then Bingley hoisted Elizabeth up into his lap. He rode ahead to help the others, and Darcy rode as quickly as he could without doing anymore damage to Elizabeth.

Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't help but notice how good it felt to have her in his arms. And these thoughts shocked him. In fact, it made him angry that he was so concerned for her well being. It was as if nothing else mattered. He just needed to see her green eyes twinkle and her mouth smile again.

Ten minutes later, Darcy arrived at the house. He carried Elizabeth to her bedroom and he laid her down on the bed.

Jane had tears in her eyes as she looked at her sister. Charley grabbed her into his arms and whispered a few comforting words into her ear. Darcy could only look at the lifeless form on the bed and pray that it wasn't as bad as it looked.

Mrs. Bingley bustled around the room, trying to make it warmer. Lizzy had been out in the cold too long, and she was worried it would make her sick. She turned the fireplace on and the heater up. She piled blankets on the bed before asking Charley and Darcy to leave so she and Jane could change Elizabeth out of her wet clothes.

They left the room, but Darcy remained right outside the door, pacing, and Charley sat silently in a chair in the hallway. Darcy was so consumed with his thoughts that he didn't realize when Charley left to let the doctor in the door. He looked up when the doctor entered the room and then resumed his pacing when he shut the door again.

Twenty minutes later, the doctor exited the room.

"Well?" Charley asked. "How is she? Is she going to be okay?" Darcy wanted to ask the same questions, but couldn't bring himself to speak.

"She had a nasty hit in the head, knocking her unconscious. We're lucky she didn't break her neck in the fall. The most dangerous thing right now, however, is the hypothermia. This is terrible weather to be out in, much less to be left unconscious. You will have to watch her through the night, keep her warm. I will be back in the morning to check on her."

The men thanked him and then he left.

"Charley, I'm afraid it's all my fault," confessed Darcy.

"Darcy, what the heck are you talking about?" asked a surprised Bingley.

"I made her angry by some comments that I made and I'm afraid it may have been the cause of her bad riding."

"Surely you cannot think that was the reason she fell?"

"I do. But I just got a text. Apparently there is some business I need to attend to. Please tell Elizabeth to get well for me. I'll see you at dinner."


	5. Chapter 5

chapter 5

Elizabeth woke up a few hours later in a lot of pain.

"Jane!" she called, panicked and unaware of what had happened. "Jane!"

"Shhh Lizzy. I'm right here. How are you feeling?"

"I hurt all over," Lizzy began to cry. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember? You fell off your horse. You were knocked unconscious and caught hypothermia. Apparently the hypothermia is gone though, so that is good!" Jane was always the optimist. "Lizzy, you have to calm down. You are going to give yourself a worse headache." She smoothed Lizzy's hair. "Here. Take this. It will take away the pain." She handed Lizzy two pills that immediately caused her to fall asleep.

Elizabeth didn't wake up until the next morning, the morning of Christmas Eve, and she was feeling much better. So much better, in fact, that she went to breakfast with the rest of them.

"Elizabeth!" exclaimed Mr. Bingley. "It's so good to see you up and around. I assume you're feeling better?"

"Much, thank you. In fact, I'm super hungry."

"Well that can quickly be fixed!" laughed Mrs. Bingley as she handed Elizabeth a plate full of pancakes and sausage. "Charley, did you tell the girls about the Christmas Ball?"

Charley looked up from his meal in surprise. "Ah! I completely forgot!"

"A Christmas Ball?" asked Jane.

"It's a tradition," explained Caroline. "Every year, our neighbors, the Townsends, host a ball for their friends and family. It's a traditional ball, with tuxedoes and ball gowns and ballroom dancing- my favorite event of the year. I have a new Monique Lluhlier dress to wear."

"Well, I'm afraid we didn't bring anything suitable to wear," confessed Jane. "Elizabeth and I don't mind staying here while the rest of you go."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Bingley. "The four of us women will go shopping for a dress the day after Christmas. It will be our gift to you."

"We couldn't accept that! It would be too much. You have already gone above and beyond by letting us stay here."

"No arguing!" cried Mr. Bingley. "It will be our pleasure."

"Darcy, who are you escorting?" asked Caroline, obviously fishing for an invitation.

"Well, I was hoping to escort Elizabeth," he looked in Elizabeth's eyes. "Will you do me the honor?"

Elizabeth was too shocked to do anything but nod, and Darcy took that as a very good sign. Caroline, on the other hand, was deeply offended.

"Caroline, who do you plan on going with?" asked Mr. Bingley.

"Well, Jonah asked me, so I guess I may as well accept." she replied.

After breakfast, the group split up. Darcy had to return to some pressing business matters. Jane and Charley took advantage of the afternoon to spend some time alone. They spent the time talking and kissing on the porch. Caroline spent the afternoon sulking and talking to her friends on the phone while Elizabeth took advantage of the quiet to wrap her gifts for the group and read a new book.

Too soon for her liking, it was time to get ready. She straightened her hair and dabbed some makeup on before putting on a red longsleeved dress and nude heels. When she was ready she walked into her sister's room to see her dressed in a blue shirt with black slacks.

The group attended a candle lighting service at the Bingley's church, and then returned to the house for dinner. It was traditionally very laid back on Christmas Eve, so they had pizza for dinner and spent the rest of the night playing board games. Elizabeth and Jane both claimed they hadn't spent such an enjoyable Christmas Eve in a long time


	6. Chapter 6

chapter 6

Elizabeth woke up the next morning to a knock on her door.

"Merry Christmas Lizzy! Hurry downstairs, we're about to open presents!" called Mrs. Bingley.

She hopped out of bed and brushed her teeth before heading down. She found the whole group gathered around the tree.

"Your pile is over there, Lizzy," Charley informed her. She went to sit down and then they began taking turns opening presents.

Both Lizzy and Jane received packages from home. Lizzy got two new books and a scarf from her parents and Jane got a new coat. They were so pleased with their gifts that they were unaware of the pitying stares they got from the others.

Caroline didn't give gifts to the two girls, and of course they were getting a dress from their hosts. Lizzy was surprised to find a beautiful leather diary from Darcy.

"William, it's beautiful. Thank you so much!" she thanked him profusely.

"You're welcome. And thank you for my new tie." She had given him a red neck tie.

Jane also received a journal from Darcy, but when she opened her gift from Charley her eyes widened in surprise.

"Charley, you really shouldn't have," she quietly stated as she admired the diamond earrings he had gotten her.

"Of course I should have!" he exclaimed.

"No really, you shouldn't have," she cried as she got up ran from the room.

He looked up, shocked and confused. Lizzy apologized and got up to go after her.

"No," he said, "let me." He followed her out, bent on finding out what the problem was.

He found her out on the porch, crying.

"Jane, did I do something wrong?" he asked, distraught.

"N-no. I'm s-so sorry! I d-don't des-deserve y-you!" she sobbed.

"I'm sorry, what?" he was absolutely bewildered.

"We're from two completely different worlds. I don't deserve you. I can't fit in your world. You give me diamonds for Christmas and I can only knit you a scarf!" she started to cry even harder.

He hugged her tightly, "Babe, please don't ever think you don't deserve me! If anything, I don't deserve you! You are too sweet and forgiving for me. And you fit into my world perfectly"

"R-really?"

"Really. And your scarf is the best gift I've ever gotten. Now let's go back in and finish opening presents."

An hour later, everyone had finished opening gifts and started in on a delicious brunch. The spread included muffins, casseroles, fruits, waffles, pancakes, sausages, and many other foods. They each indulged themselves before watching a movie in the living room.

That afternoon, the girls called their parents to wish them a Merry Christmas. It was their first Christmas away from home and they were missing their family.

"Jane, Lizzy, it's great to hear from you! Tell me all about Netherfield," their mom demanded as soon as she heard their voices. She was a good mother and a wonderful teacher, but she had little common sense and was rather silly.

"Jane," Kitty cut in, "can I borrow your little black dress and your pearls and your sparkly shoes?" she cared of little else besides what she looked like.

"Guess what!" Lydia exclaimed. "I have a new boyfriend! His name is Peter Kittredge." She went on for ten minutes about her "dear Pete" before allowing anyone else to say anything. She loved boys much more than she should.

"Did you know I'm the Chess Club President now?" Mary was much too smart for her own good.

They spent an hour listening to their absurd family, but were finally able to hang up and head to the large dinner they were having that night. It was a delightful meal and both agreed it had been a wonderful Christmas.

The women woke up early the next morning and headed to town for some shopping.

"Mother, I need new shoes and jewelry to go with my dress, nothing I have will work," complained Caroline.

"Of course you do," agreed Mrs. Bingley, "but we need to focus on getting Jane and Lizzy their outfits." Caroline pouted at that and remained silent until they arrived at the mall.

"Well girls, where would you start? Dress Barn?" Caroline asked snidely, causing Jane to blush and Lizzy to flush with anger.

"Caroline, that will be enough," chided Mrs. Bingley. "We will start at Nordstrom's and possibly go to Bergdorf's."

"Oh, please," Jane cut in, "we don't need anything that nice."

"Nonsense! Now here, pick out some dresses to try on." Mrs. Bingley pushed the two toward the racks.

All of a sudden, Caroline seemed very interested in the choices. "Lizzy, why don't you try this on?" she asked sweetly. Lizzy thought it an awful dress. It was a taffeta, strappless, lime green gown. The bodice had yellow beading and there was a large bow up by the neck.

"That's not really my style. Thank you though," Lizzy replied, doing her best not to hurt Caroline's feelings, but having no desire to try on the dress. Despite her best efforts, Caroline looked angry.

They spent hours looking for dresses and shoes and jewelry and purses. Mrs. Bingley was very generous despite the sister's protests. Once Caroline went off on her own to shop for herself, Lizzy and Jane had a blast shopping.

Jane, after much convincing by Mrs. Bingley, chose a Monique Lhullier dress and Elizabeth chose a Lela Rose gown. Caroline had found some Prada heels to go with her dress, so they all left happy.


	7. Chapter 7

chapter 7

The next afternoon was filled with a whirlwind of activities. The men had nothing to do until later that night, so they went to a friend's house to play pool. The women, on the other hand, had much to do to get ready.

They all slept in and then had a small breakfast. Lizzy called Charlotte that morning and listened to a long description of her odd relationship with Jacob Collins. Jane spent the morning reading and Mrs. Bingley spent the morning cooking and telling the housekeeper what needed to be cleaned. Caroline, on the other hand, didn't wake until one o'clock that afternoon.

Mrs. Bingley had hired two women to do hair and makeup for the four of them, a pleasure that neither Jane nor Elizabeth had ever experienced.

That night, around eight o'clock, the party gathered in the foyer. The men were already there, and eagerly waiting on their dates.

Mrs. Bingley descended the stairs first and her husband was very pleased by what he saw. His wife was dressed in a beautiful brown silk gown that bared her shoulders and showed of the diamond necklace her husband had bought her for their tenth anniversary. The bodice accentuated her figure before falling into an a-line skirt.

"My, you look stunning. I must be the luckiest man in the world," he said as he kissed his wife.

"And I am the luckiest woman in the world," she replied as she straightened his bow tie. They both looked up to see their daughter walking downstairs.

She was dressed in a lavender strapless gown with a tulle skirt. Her hair was in a curly up-do and she was wearing amethysts around her neck. Jonah's eyes were bugging out of his head as he looked at her.

"Well, hello, there Jonah. Don't you look nice," she said.

He cleared his throat. "Caroline you look beautiful."

They heard a gasp and looked to see Jane come downstairs. Poor Bingley was shocked by her beauty. Her Monique Lluhlier dress was most flattering. It was a light blue one shoulder dress that was form fitting to her waist before flowing gracefully down the rest of her body. Her hair was in a chignon at the nape of her neck and she wore no jewelry, wanting to be simple.

"Y-you l-look," he cleared his throat, "you look absolutely incredible."

She blushed, before he gently kissed her. They then looked back up the stairs in expectation of her sister.

Darcy had been looking out the window as the first three women came into the foyer. He had been so intently observing the landscape that he didn't realize they were there. It wasn't until he heard Mrs. Bingley gasp, "Elizabeth!" that he turned around.

He found himself staring at the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She was wearing a black organza gown that was very modest but very flattering. It had a fairly high neck, but not a turtle neck, and short sleeves. She wore pearl earrings and a pearl necklace, making her look like an actress from the 1950s. Her hair was curled beautifully around her face. He couldn't find his voice to say anything.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was feeling very awkward. She didn't like to have everyone's eyes on her and it made her very uncomfortable. It didn't help that she was attending the ball with a man that she absolutely despised. The look on his face surprised her. She couldn't tell if he was pleased by what she looked like or disappointed.

"Cat got your tongue, Darcy?" Bingley laughed.

"Oh, er, excuse me. Elizabeth you look very pretty." He didn't know what else to say. He felt like there weren't words to describe how beautiful she was.

To her it sounded like he thought she looked mediocre, and she merely nodded in response.

The eight of them alighted into the limo Mr. Bingley had rented and headed to the Townsends. When they arrived, Elizabeth was amazed to see such elegance and splendor. It was at yet another large plantation-style home that was all lit up and she could see dozens of couples talking inside. As they were waiting for the limo to pull up to the front, she observed the multitude of dresses the women were wearing. There were so many colors, and all looked to be designer dresses.

The driver helped them all out of the limo and they made their way inside. Dancing hadn't begun yet, so they took a turn about the room talking to those around them. Elizabeth was introduced to too many people to count, and only one stood out. Darcy and Charley had been on the other side of the room talking with a group of men, and she was standing off to the side with Jane, watching the people. She was slightly surprised when a young man came up and introduced himself.

"What are two pretty young ladies doing here, standing by themselves?" he asked, eyeing Elizabeth.

"I'm afraid our dates are in the middle of a serious business conversation," Elizabeth quipped. "They cannot seem to get away from it for even one night!"

"What a pity. At least this gives me the chance to talk to the two of you. I'm George Wickham," he shook both girls hands.

"George, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Elizabeth and this is my sister Jane."

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. I haven't seen you around. Where are you from?"

They had just entered into easy conversation when Elizabeth noticed George look at something behind her and visibly pale.

She felt a hand on the small of her back. "George Wickham, it has been a long time." She looked up to see a very angry William Darcy.

"D-darcy!" George stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"I believe the question is what are you doing here?" Darcy replied. "I see you've met my date, Elizabeth."

"Oh, she's your date? I didn't realize. Well, it has been a pleasure getting to know her a bit." He got a weird gleam in his eye. "Elizabeth, would you like to dance?"

"I would, thank you," she was very confused by the men's reaction to each other, but found no reason to not dance with him. She could feel William stiffen beside her, but ignored it.

"What was that about?" she question Wickham as he led her to the dance floor.

"It's a long story. You really don't want to hear it."

"Oh, but I do!" she exclaimed.

"Okay then," he conceded. "Well, Darcy and I were childhood friends. My father was his father's right hand man and old Mr. Darcy loved me. When he died, he left me a large portion of stock in his company, enough to give me some pull in the decisions. William was angry that his father loved me as much as his own son, so he took away my stock, and therefore my way of life. Now, to support myself, I have had to join the military. Luckily, I haven't been deployed yet, but I'm waiting for it."

"George, I am so sorry! That is awful! I can't believe William would do such a thing!" Elizabeth had known that he wasn't the kindest individual she had ever met, but she hadn't expected this.

Their dance finished and Elizabeth found herself back with Jane, Bingley, and Darcy.

"Jane, you need to meet one of my basketball teammates and his wife." Charley dragged Jane away, leaving Darcy and Elizabeth alone.

"Elizabeth, may I have this dance?" Darcy extended his hand.

Lizzy knew she needed to dance with her date at least once, and so she reluctantly agreed. The dance ended up being a waltz and Lizzy was very surprised by how well he danced.

"William, you are a much better dancer than I expected," she told him.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment," he responded. "but thank you."

Lizzy was still thinking of her conversation with Wickham and so didn't speak to her partner for the duration of the dance. She spent the rest of the evening dancing with other men at the ball, only dancing with her date once more.

They didn't leave the party until two in the morning, and all were exhausted and yet very satisfied. Every person had a blast, except for Darcy. He seemed as morose as ever.

The next morning, Lizzy and Jane packed their bags and flew home, wanting to spend the remainder of their Christmas break with their family. Darcy returned to Pemberley, bringing Charley along with him.


	8. Chapter 8

chapter 8

The third week of January, everyone returned to school. Everyone, that is, except for Charley Bingley.

"Jane, have you heard from Charley?" Elizabeth asked her sister as they walked to lunch one day.

"No!" she exclaimed, "and I don't understand why! I've called him three times this week and left him messages each time and he still hasn't called me back. I know there is nothing wrong because I've texted Caroline a couple of times and she hasn't mentioned anything. What could it be?" Elizabeth's poor sister was very distressed.

"I'm sure it's nothing. He's probably just been busy." Elizabeth tried to comfort her sister, although she herself was confused.

Two days later, Jane came rushing into her room, tears streaming down her face.

"Jane! What is it? What's wrong?" Elizabeth questioned.

"He-he i-isn't c-coming b-back!" she sobbed.

"What do you mean he isn't coming back?" Elizabeth exclaimed, already aware of who Jane was talking about.

"Lizzy! He d-doesn't w-want me any-anymore. He c-called me and s-said that he is f-finishing up h-his schooling b-back in S-south Carolina. S-something a-about an easy tr-transfer th-that wouldn't h-hold h-him back. W-william wants h-him to c-come work for h-him, but he w-wants his degree t-to be from South C-carolina." Elizabeth stared at her in bewilderment. "He said th-that he d-doesn't think w-we should keep d-dating s-since he's s-so f-far away!" She was crying hysterically now.

Elizabeth was livid. How could Charley Bingley break up with her sister so soon after bringing her home for Christmas? Why on earth did Darcy demand that Charley graduate from a school in South Carolina? What was wrong with these people? Her thoughts were furious as she hugged her sister and stroked her hair as she cried into her shoulder.

The next weekend, Elizabeth decided it was time for Jane to get out and enjoy herself. She and a group of their closest friends dressed Jane in a cute dress and took her to a bar to go two-stepping. To Lizzy's surprise, Charlotte was there with Jacob Collins and there was a ring on her finger.

"Charlotte!" Lizzy exclaimed, "Do you have something to tell me?"

"Oh Lizzy! I'm engaged!" Charlotte shouted. "We're getting married in a month!" Elizabeth could only stare in shock. "Say something Lizzy! Be happy for us!"

"I-I'm sorry Charlotte. It surprised me. I'm very happy for you. Can I talk to you over here for a second?"

Elizabeth dragged Charlotte outside. "Charlotte, you don't love him. What the heck are you doing?"

"Lizzy on earth are you talking about? Of course I love him. I wouldn't marry him if I didn't love him."

"Charlotte. I know you. Tell me the truth." Elizabeth demanded.

"Fine! You know what? I think I might, but I'm not positive that I love him. But he seems to love me, Lizzy. And we both know that I have very few admirers, so I need to take advantage of this. Please, just be happy for me. He has a job working for a Mrs. DeBourgh as her assistant. After we marry, we will move to a house in Kent. I've already dropped out of school, so I suppose I will just work in the home. It will be good. I might not love him, but I do believe I will be happy. He'll provide for me."

"Okay, Charlotte. I don't like it but it looks like I can't change your mind."

"Thanks, Lizzy." Charlotte said as they headed back to their group. Lizzy danced with her friends and a lot of random guys, doing her best to forget the monumental mistake her best friend was about to make.

The spring semester went by quickly. Elizabeth was a bridesmaid in Charlotte's wedding and the newlyweds moved to Kent. Jane wasn't as happy as she had been when she was dating Charley, but she was slowly becoming more like her old self. She even went out with a couple of new guys, much to Elizabeth's happiness. Elizabeth herself went out a couple of times with an old acquaintance.

"Are you going out with George again?" asked Jane as she watched Elizabeth swipe on some mascara. George Wickham had decided to attend their same college while waiting to see if he ever received orders from the military.

Elizabeth smiled. "I am. He's picking me up in thirty minutes. We're going to dinner and then the basketball game."

"He seems like such an awesome guy! Do you think the two of you will become exclusive any time soon?"

"I highly doubt it," laughed Lizzy. "I don't like him that much! At least not yet."

She liked Wickham, a lot, in fact, but there was something about him that made her hesitant. It bothered her that she couldn't figure out what the problem was. She continued to go out with him, though, in hopes of getting rid of the weird feeling.

She enjoyed her time with him that night, and was pleasantly surprised when he kissed her as he was dropping her off. She had never before been kissed and she relished the feeling. Despite the nice kiss, she still felt like something was off. She ignored the feeling and went to sleep, instead, thinking of the studying she would have to do for her tests the next week.

Charlotte had invited her to spend a week in Kent over spring break, so as Jane went to the beach with some friends, she drove four hours to see Charlotte and her unbearable husband.

She pulled her small black SUV into the driveway of a tiny brown house. Charlotte rushed out the door when she saw her.

"Lizzy! I'm so glad you came!" she ran to hug her friend. "How was the trip? It wasn't too terribly long was it?" She grabbed the bags from the car. "Come on. I'll show you where you'll be sleeping.

The house truly was miniscule. Lizzy followed Charlotte through the door and saw a small living room and kitchen. There was enough room for a love seat, a lazy boy, and an entertainment center with a small TV. The kitchen had an old oven and refrigerator, as well as a sink and mivrowave. There was no dishwasher and Lizzy hated to think of Charlotte doing a lot of dishes by hand. The girls walked down a hall that had three doors.

They passed the first door. "That is mine and Jacob's bedroom." They passed the second door. "This is the bathroom. And this will be your bedroom." She opened the last door. Elizabeth was very surprised by the size of the room. The twin bed that stood in it took up most of the room. Aside from the bed, there was a nightstand and a small dresser.

"Charlotte, your house is so charming," said Elizabeth.

"Oh, Lizzy, we both know you really mean that it's tiny. But whatever. There's nothing I can do about it." She sat on the bed and burst into tears. "You were right. It was a horrible, horrible mistake. I'm absolutely miserable."

Elizabeth didn't know what to say. "Charlotte, did something happen?"

"N-no. He is just s-so boring! He h-hardly talks t-to me and w-we've only s-slept together t-twice. The highlight of h-his life is w-working for the 'w-wonderful Mrs. DeBourgh.'"

"Oh, I am so so sorry. It could be worse though, right?" Elizabeth was doing her best to comfort her friend and was miserably failing. "He could be rude, or abusive."

Charlotte did her best to dry her tears. "You're r-right. At least he provides for me."

"Exactly. Now why don't you go take a nap while I put my stuff away. Then I can help you make dinner."

"Actually, Lizzy, we are having dinner at Rosings, Mrs. DeBorgue's house, tonight. You'll want to wear something nice and we'll leave at six. But I am going to take a nap, if you don't mind. I have been very tired lately."

She left the room and Lizzy began unpacking her stuff. She pulled out a white blouse and a pink floral skirt to wear that night with gold heels. She was drying her hair when she was startled by a door slamming shut. She walked into the hallway to see that Mr. Collins had come home.

"Elizabeth, you made it! I'm so glad you came. Charlotte desperately needs some friends. I hope she told you we were going to my boss's house for dinner tonight?"

"Hi Jacob. Thank you so much for having me. Charlotte told me about dinner and I'm super excited to meet the woman you work for."

"She's a wonderful lady and I'm very honored to have the privilege of working for her. But if we don't leave in five minutes we're going to be late! Charlotte," he called, "we have to leave now!"

"Okay, okay," said Charlotte as she walked into the living room. "calm down. My gosh, you'd think we were going to meet the President."

The three climbed into Jacob's old station wagon and headed to the north side of town. Elizabeth stared in awe as they drove through the gate of a large mansion.

"This is where you work?" she gaped. "What on earth does Mrs. DeBourgh do?"

"Her deceased husband was very good at investments and he left all of it to her. My job is to take care of the maintenance around the house." They pulled up to the front door and got out of the car. They climbed the steps and were let inside by a maid.

"Please, come into the sitting room. Mrs. DeBourgh and Anne will be with you shortly."

Charlotte and Jacob fussed with every inch of their outfits while Lizzy examined the room they were sitting in. It looked as if it came from nineteenth century Europe. She was staring at a painting when Mrs. DeBourgh walked in.

"Mr. Collins, long time no see. Mrs. Collins, it's good to see you. I hope you've been able to organize your closets adequately. Like I told you, it'll be much better if you get the bins. You must be Elizabeth. I suppose you arrived okay, then. Now let's go on to dinner. My daughter and nephew are already seated."

"You're nephew is here?" questioned Jacob as they walked into the dining room. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him."

"Mr. Collins, Charlotte, Elizabeth, meet my nephew William Darcy. And this is my daughter Anne."

"Elizabeth, what are you doing here?" questioned Darcy, momentarily forgetting his manners at the shock of seeing Elizabeth.

"Lizzy came to spend her spring break with my wife and I," answered Jacob. "It's great to meet you William."

They all sat down, and Lizzy ended up sitting next to Mr. Darcy.

"Elizabeth, how has your second semester of school been?" William eventually got up the nerve to make conversation.

"It's fine. I like the majority of my classes. How is business? I heard that Charley came to work for you."

"That's good to hear. Business is business. Busy, but enjoyable. And yes, Bingley did come to work with me. As of now he is considered an intern, but once he graduates he will have a real position."

"Isn't it weird having your best friend work for you?" Despite her best efforts to be friendly, Lizzy was still angry at him taking away her sister's boyfriend.

"I guess it would be if I weren't so much older. He is six years younger than me, you know."

"I didn't realize you were so old." Lizzy abruptly turned to Anne and began a conversation with her, leaving Darcy to himself.

"Elizabeth," interrupted Mrs. DeBourgh, "do you like music?"

"Yes ma'am, I do."

"Do you play any instruments?"

"I play the piano. I'm not very good, though."

"My niece, Georgiana, plays the piano. In fact, we fully expect her to attend Juilliard next year, when she graduates from high school. You'll have to play for us after dinner."

"That's impressive. I don't think you would want to hear me play, though. I'm really not good at all." Lizzy tried to get out of it.

Unfortunately, after dinner they went into what Mrs. Debourgh called the "parlor" to talk.

"Elizabeth, please play for us. I insist." As much as she didn't want to, Elizabeth made her way to the baby grand piano and started on one of her favorite songs. The others continued talking and eventually began playing card games. She was so enthralled with her music that she didn't realize Darcy had been staring at her for quite sometime. When she finally did, she was very annoyed.

"Can I help you?" She sassed.

"I'm sorry i I'm bothering you. I love watching people play the piano. The way their fingers drift across the keys...simply astounding. I play, too, but not nearly as well as my sister. Most would consider her a prodigy."

"How lovely." responded Elizabeth, causing her to strike the wrong key. "Look what you did! You made me mess up!"

"I'm sorry. I won't distract you anymore."

Darcy went back to the card game , but despite his promise not to distract her, Darcy soon returned to the piano, intent on getting to know Elizabeth.

"So, Elizabeth, I assume you have a boyfriend?" He questioned, hoping the answer would be negative.

"I am dating someone, yes, but we are not an official couple. I believe you know him, actually," she said, wanting to see the man's reaction.

"Really? And who would that be?"

"George Wickham."

Elizabeth watched Darcy turn pale and his eyes grow stony. "George Wickham?" he whispered.

"Mhmm. We've been out quite a bit over the last few months. He's going to school with me now. He seems like such a nice guy."

"A nice guy?" he said. "A nice guy? Lizzie-" Darcy started. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. Just be careful. I don't think you know him as well as you think you do."

"I think I know him perfectly, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me I think I'll go join the card game."

Darcy could only stare at her, his thoughts filled with concern as he thought of what the man might do to Lizzy.


	9. Chapter 9

chapter 9

Curiously enough, Charlotte and Lizzy spent a lot of time at Rosings accompanied by Jacob and Darcy. The four spent often enjoyed a walk about the gardens, they went horseback riding, and enjoyed a picnic. Elizabeth and Charlotte spent their spare time shopping or relaxing when the men were working. They usually dined at Rosings in the evenings, forcing Elizabeth to be civil to Darcy. If she hadn't been thinking of her sister and George Wickham, she would have grown to like Darcy. On Elizabeth's last day, Sunday, they had all gone to church together and then back to Rosings for brunch.

"Elizabeth, can I talk to you for a moment," asked Mr. Darcy, "in the garden?"

Confused, Elizabeth rose from her seat at the table and followed him out the door. She watched him pace anxiously for a moment before asking, "Is everything okay?"

He stopped and looked at her. "No, Elizabeth. Everything is not okay." He put his hands on her arms. "Miss Elizabeth. I have struggled in vain and I can bear it no longer. These past months have been a torment. I came to Rosings with the single object of seeing you... I had to see you. I have fought against my better judgement, my family's expectations, the inferiority of your birth by rank and circumstance. All these things I am willing to put aside and ask you to end my agony."

"I don't understand."

"I love you, most ardently."

Elizabeth could only stare. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No!" Darcy exclaimed. "Of course not!"

"Really? Cause it sure sounds like it. You bring me out here to insult my family, to insult my 'rank and circumstance,' - what the heck does that mean anyway?- and to tell me it goes against your better judgement?" Elizabeth was livid. "Not to mention that you tore my sister away from the man she loved? And what about George Wickham, huh? You think it's just okay to take away his part of the inheritance, leaving him to the military to make his living?"

"You really think I'm that kind of person?" responded Darcy, his own anger growing.

"Well, it certainly appears so! I'm flattered, but I'm sorry to tell you that the feeling is not mutual." She ran back into the house, leaving Darcy absolutely shocked and angry that he, a Darcy, had been rejected.

"We need to go," she burst in to the dining room. "I'm not feeling well."

"Well okay, Lizzy, just one sec-" Charlotte started.

"Mrs. DeBourgh, Anne, thank you for welcoming me into your home. I'm afraid I must leave now." She ran to sit in the car, doing her best not to see Darcy.

"Lizzy, would you care to explain that?" exclaimed Charlotte when she reached the car.

"I told you, I'm not feeling well."

"You're lying, but whatever. I won't bother you about it." The three drove back to the little house where Elizabeth quickly packed her bags and hightailed it out of town. She called her sister as soon as she was in the car.

"Jane! You'll never guess what just happened. I'm so confused! It was so random- out of nowhere. We'd had a nice week but he couldn't have really felt like that. And he thought it was okay to insult me! What on earth was he possibly thinking?"

"Lizzy! Lizzy! Slow down!" Jane interrupted. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Start at the beginning."

Elizabeth told Jane everything that Darcy had told her and everything leading up to it. The more she talked about it the more confused she became.

"Jane, why on earth would he fall in love with me?"

"Lizzy, there's so much to love about you!"

"No. He's so debonair and high class. He has women fawning over him all the time. He is so prideful and haughty and arrogant. It just doesn't make sense!"

They talked for another ten minutes or so, before hanging up.

The two sisters once again returned to school. Jane had a wonderful time in Florida with her friends. She blushed as she told Elizabeth about a boy she had met, Paul Granger. They met one day at the beach. He was from New York, but they had been talking every night. Jane told her that she really liked him, but Elizabeth could tell that every time she spoke of Paul, she was thinking of Charley.

On a beautiful day in April, Elizabeth received a letter. Curious, she opened the envelope to find a letter from William.

Dear Elizabeth,

I want to assure you that this letter is not meant to repeat what I told you in Kent. It is simply to set some matters straight. You accused me of two things: tearing apart your sister and Bingley, and taking away George Wickham's inheritance. Both are true, I'm afraid, but I must explain to you the reasoning behind it.

Christmas at the Bingley's with you and your sister was the best Christmas I have spent in a long time. As you apparently already know, my parents died when I was younger and the Bingleys became like my parents. I have spent almost every holiday with them. They love to ahve friends surrounding them. The family was surprised that their son was bringing home a girl but they were excited to meet her. They enjoyed your sister, but were very concerned that she was not suitable for their son. After seeing Jane's reaction to the diamond earrings, I came to agree with them. Your sister was from a whole other world. Mr. Bingley pulled me into the study the day after Christmas, when you girls were shopping. He asked me what I thought of the couple and I told him my honest opinion- that I believed her to be a wonderful girl, but not a good match for Bingley. He asked what I thought should be done and I told them it might help if they were separated. He agreed and told me what he wanted me to do.

Mr. Bingley asked me to hire Charley on the condition that he finish his schooling in South Carolina. I have pull all over the world and was able to use it to make sure the transfer didn't take him off track. I put the offer in a way that he couldn't refuse. He was very upset to leave Jane, but he believed that after he made enough of his own money, he could return to her. Then, he would be able to support her and would have earned her respect. I doubted him, figuring he would find a girl, but so far that has not come to be true. Elizabeth, you must understand that I did what I did to protect my friend. I thought it to be an imprudent match and I wanted to keep Charley from making that mistake. Unfortunately, it is I that was making the mistake. Please forgive me. And please don't tell Jane. I'm afraid it would make her think less of Charley and his family.

As for George Wickham, I will not apologize for anything I have done. However, I will tell you why I did it. Wickham and I grew up together. His father worked closely with my father and we became childhood friends. As we got older, he became jealous of me and manipulative. His father died the year before I was to go to college, and my father decided to take him under his wing. The next year, he sent us both to Oxford. When we were at Oxford, he became a big partier. I had never seen anyone so debaucherous. He had a new woman in his room every night and was drunk most nights of the week. Gambling became his favorite pastime and he completely ignored his studies. He didn't graduate, so I suppose that is why he is 'in school' again (I highly doubt that he's really a student right now). I was outraged. My father spent thousands of dollars for him to live a completely immoral life.

A week after I graduated, my father died. They said it was a heart attack, but I know it was heart ache from missing my mother. Anyway, he made me executor of the estate. My sister and I were to inherit everything, except for a rather large portion of stock in one of the companies. He gave those shares to Wickham. Wickham was in some terrible debt at that time, and needed a quick fix. He decided that he didn't want the stock, but he just wanted cash. So I bought his shares, and paid him adequately for them. I assume that over half of the money he was paid went to pay his debt and the other half went to his other forms of leisure. I thought I was done with him. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

As I said before, Wickham has always been jealous of me. Well, apparently he is good at holding grudges. My sister, Georgiana, attends a boarding school in California. I was in town for a few weeks last January and decided to visit her at school. Imagine my surprise when I found out that my little sister was dating George Wickham, who was 'stationed' in California. In fact, her best friend informed me that Georgiana had been talking about dropping out of school and eloping. I am very close with my sister, and I made sure to stop those thoughts right then and there. I know how Wickham's mind works, so I know that he did it to get at her inheritance. She gets it when she marries. She was heartbroken when I told her everything. Again, I used my pull to get Wickham stationed as far away from California as possible.

I hope this clears some things up and I hope you do think slightly better of me. I want you to know that I am not a bad person. I protect my friends and my family and I will not apologize for that. I'm not sure that I will ever see or talk to you again, but I wish you all the best, Elizabeth.

Yours,

William Darcy

Elizabeth read the letter several times before fully comprehending what he had written. She still thought him prideful and arrogant, but her heart softened toward him a bit. She kept the contents of the letter to herself, not even telling Jane. For the next few weeks, before school was out, William Darcy was never far from her mind.

Elizabeth had just finished her first final when she received a call from her Aunt Susan.

"Elizabeth, I have a proposition for you," her aunt jumped right in. "Alex's business is taking him to London for the summer and I am going with him."

"Oh, how exciting! Do you want me to house-sit for you?"

"Of course not!" exclaimed Aunt Susan. "I actually called to see if you would want to go with me. Alex thinks he'll be tied up most of the trip, so he told me to invite someone to accompany us. Naturally, you were the first person I thought of."

There was only a twelve year age difference between Elizabeth and her aunt, because her aunt had been adopted into her mother's family right before her parents married. The two were very close. Alex and Susan were unable to have children, so the two spent much of their time traveling.

"Aunt Susan! Of course I would love to go with you! This is unbelievable! When do we leave?"

Her aunt proceeded to tell her of their traveling agenda. They were leaving two days after her finals were over. They would be gone from the second week of May to the second week of August.

"We'll be staying at one of Alex's business parter's townhouse in London, but we can travel all over Europe if we want to. Make sure and bring an extra suitcase because I have every intention of doing some serious shopping in Paris!"

They spent the next hour talking about where they wanted to visit before Elizabeth realized she had another test to study for. She didn't get much studying done, however, because she was so distracted by the thoughts of a trip abroad.

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	10. Chapter 10

chapter 10

Lizzy and Jane left school after their finals were over and headed home for a couple of days before Lizzy left. They had just walked in the door when Mrs. Bennet bombarded them with questions.

"How were your finals? I assume you got all A's? Jane have you talked to that guy from Florida lately? Elizabeth, have you been on a single date this semester? You won't be young forever, you know. And your dad and I certainly can't support you forever either. You need to find a good solid man and so-"

"Carol!" exclaimed their father, "you didn't even bother saying 'hello' before you attacked them. Hey girls! I'm so glad you're back!" He kissed each of them before grabbing their bags and taking them to their room.

"Jane! You won't believe what has happened to me!" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Fifteen year old Lydia always had a flair for the dramatics.

"What happened Lydia?" Jane always played along.

She launched into some tale about a man that was interested in her. Lizzy ignored the monologue, and talked to the other two sisters instead. Kitty didn't like school, but there were a couple of boys she was interested in. Mary loved school, but didn't care about boys quite yet. She thought them a waste of time and thoughts. Finally, she was able to escape to the garage where her father was fixing his ancient car yet again.

"Lizzy, you never did tell me about your trip to Kent," he began. "Did anything interesting happen?"

Lizzy told her story of their adventures in Kent, but left out William's declaration of love. She didn't need to complicate things with her mother any more. Mr. Bennet could read between the lines, however, and wondered if she subconsciously had feelings for this William Darcy.

Two days later, Lizzy's aunt and uncle came to pick her up very early in the morning. Excited, Lizzy lugged her three large suitcases to the car and hoisted them into the trunk, quickly said goodbye to her family, and they were on their way. The plane ride was long, but Lizzy enjoyed talking with her aunt and uncle and reading a couple of books that she had brought. When they arrived at Heathrow Airport, the trio was surprised to find a chauffeur waiting for them. Lizzy went to look for the bags while the couple talked to the driver.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gardner?" he asked, "I am Heath, and I am to take you to the house in which you'll be staying.

The chauffeur grabbed their bags and put them in the back of a very sleek black town car. They drove through the streets of London, and Lizzy couldn't take her eyes off the scenery. There was so much to see!

Much too soon, they pulled up in front of a beautiful, large, white townhouse with flower boxes beneath the windows and a white picket fence out front. Elizabeth followed her aunt and uncle to the front door while Heath grabbed the bags. Alex knocked on the door and it was quickly opened. Elizabeth gasped.

"Elizabeth!" exclaimed Mr. Darcy. "What are you doing-"

"Mr. Darcy, please meet my wife and her niece, Elizabeth. Although you apparently already know each other." Uncle Alex was very confused.

"Your niece? Oh, yes! Your secretary did tell me you were bringing along one other person." Darcy was still very bewildered and Elizabeth could only look at her feet. "Oh, I apologize, please come in."

The small group walked into a beautiful foyer with white walls and marble floors. Elizabeth could tell that the house was immaculately decorated. She had never seen anything so fine. She was so amazed at the situation that she didn't realize William was introducing someone.

"This is my housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds. She will show you to your rooms. If you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to. Mr. Gardner, we are meeting the lawyers in my study in an hour and I would like it if you could be there. Otherwise, please make yourself at home. The maids will unpack for you if you'd like, and Mrs. Reynolds could show you around the house. I will see you ladies at dinner."

"He has maids?" Lizzy whispered to her aunt as they were led up the stairs.

"Apparently. I really like him. Why haven't you told me about him before?" Aunt Susan questioned.

Lizzy didn't answer because Mrs. Reynolds had stopped in front of a door.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, this will be your room." she opened the door and Elizabeth's jaw dropped. The room was incredible, with wood floors and windows covering an entire wall. The colors were very rich and it was very warm feeling. "Bridget will be your maid during your stay. She will be in shortly to unpack your things. Feel free to ask her for anything. I'll be back in twenty minutes to take you on a tour if you'd like. Miss Elizabeth, please follow me."

Elizabeth followed her down the hall to another door. Mrs. Reynolds opened it to see the most beautiful room Elizabeth had ever seen. Everything was creme- the walls, the floor, the fabrics, the furniture. The windows that covered the entire north wall were draped in heavy creme curtains. A beautiful chandelier hung in the middle of the room and there was a vase full of red roses on the nightstand. Mrs. Reynolds left her alone for a few minutes and Lizzy sat on the bed, trying to get her thoughts straightened out.

Who would have thought that she would end up staying at William Darcy's home. In London, no less! She wondered how she was going to fare, being there, especially with all the emotions she was facing. She was embarrassed by the accusations she had made against him, even more so by the gentlemanly way he responded to them with the letter. She was still angry by the things she had said to her that day in the garden, but she was flattered that he felt that way about her. She wondered if he still felt that way, or if he had moved on. Lizzy couldn't decide if she hoped he still loved her or not. She was awed by the opulence in which he lived. She was curious by what his peers thought of him, considering that she could already tell he was more relaxed in this environment.

Elizabeth's emotions were even more confused by the time Mrs. Reynolds returned to give them a tour of the house. She took them through the sitting room and the living room, pointing out the pieces of art the master of the house had collected over the years. She took them to the dining room and the ball room, making Elizabeth wonder what kind of person had a ballroom in their house. The housekeeper took them to the billiards room, complete with a pool table, card tables, and numerous televisions. Then, she led them to a set of double doors.

"This is Mr. Darcy's favorite room of the house. He spends hours in here."

She opened the doors to reveal a magnificent library. Elizabeth had never seen a private library, and was awestruck at the vastness of it. Bookcases went all the way up to the vaulted ceiling on every wall, creating a need for a rolling ladder. Overstuffed chairs and couches were in the middle of the room, making the room cozy. Elizabeth walked around, looking at all of the book titles and she was pleased to find all of her favorite authors. She was so consumed with the library, that she didn't realize the others had left. She was grabbing a book of a shelf when someone tapped her shoulder.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, turning around. "William, you scared me!"

"I'm sorry I scared you, Elizabeth. I see you've found your favorite room of the house?"

"It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it. I could spend days upon days in this room."

"So could I." he startled her by pulling her into a hug. "I can't believe you're here! And I thought I would never see you again!" he exclaimed. "This is crazy!"

"It is quite a coincidence," Elizabeth conceded. "I'm sorry you didn't know I was coming beforehand. Maybe then it wouldn't have been such a shock."

"Elizabeth, it was such a awesome shock! Please believe that. I am so glad to have you here. But I have to go now because I have another meeting. I'll see you at dinner. Enjoy your book!" And with that, Mr. Darcy left Elizabeth to her own confusing thoughts.

She was feeling restless, so she decided to put the book down and go find her aunt. She first checked the bedroom, but her aunt wasn't there. So she walked around the house, looking for her. She passed a set of doors that she assumed to be the study, because she heard her uncle's voice discussing business. She passed the kitchen and didn't find her aunt there. She walked through the library again, to see if her aunt had made her way through there. She was beginning to get frustrated when she heard the beautiful sound of a piano. She followed the sound to a room on the second floor. Thinking it might be her aunt, she started to open the door. The music suddenly stopped as a girl close to Lizzy's age fled to grasp Mr. Darcy in a hug.

"William! I've missed you so much!"

He kissed her on the forehead. "I've missed you too! You'll have to tell me-" He noticed Elizabeth.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized. "I was trying to find my aunt and thought she might be in here. Obviously, she's not. I'll leave you two alone now." Her words were rushed as she tried to get out of the awkward situation. It looked like William Darcy found another woman he loved. For some reason the thought brought tears to her eyes.

"Elizabeth," Darcy stopped her. "You have to meet my sister, Georgiana."

"Elizabeth!" exclaimed the girl. "I've heard so much about you!"

"Your sister?" gasped Elizabeth in disbelief. "I thought- well nevermind. Georgiana, it's so nice to meet you! I've heard a lot about you too. Your music sounded amazing."

"Do you play?" asked Georgiana, hopefully.

"I do, but I'm not very good."

"We must play a duet!" exclaimed Georgiana, pulling Elizabeth to the piano bench.

"No, really. I'm not good at-" Elizabeth protested. Giving up, she sat down to play a duet with her new friend.

Darcy clapped enthusiastically as they completed the duet.

"Can I call you Lizzy?" asked Georgiana.

"Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Okay, Lizzy," said Georgiana. "Let's go for a walk. I have a feeling that you haven't gotten the chance to see much of London yet. We can go to the park!"

"You two young ladies cannot just walk around town by yourselves. You need an escort," interrupted Darcy.

"Well isn't that primeval!" joked Georgiana. "So, if we can't go by ourselves, then will you come with us?" She knew that Darcy wanted to spend time with Elizabeth and she did her best to help out.

"I don't know, Georgie," Darcy feigned disinterest. "I guess I could take a break from work."

"Perfect!" squealed Georgiana as Elizabeth flushed uncomfortably.

"I guess I'll go find my aunt and tell her where we are going."

"You'll find her in the garden!" called Darcy as he went to tell Alex he was leaving for the afternoon. He figured his friend could handle the business transactions for a few hours.

They left just a few minutes later and strolled to Hyde Park.

"It sure is gloomy in England, isn't it?" stated Elizabeth in an effort to make conversation.

"Most of the time. I rather like it though," Darcy agreed.

"What, does it match your mood?" Lizzy was very uncomfortable and it caused her to be a little surly.

"As a matter of fact, it does!" joked Georgiana. "William is always moody. Especially in the morning. The servants know to avoid eye contact when serving breakfast. They like him the rest of the time though!"

Darcy laughed. "Unfortunately, my sister is right. No one likes me in the mornings."

Elizabeth laughed as well. "I can only imagine! Although, I have to admit that I'm not very nice in the mornings either. My father used to joke that there was no 'right' side of the bed for me to wake up on!"

As they walked, Darcy pointed out a couple monuments.

The park was green and picturesque. Elizabeth was enthralled with London and couldn't wait to see more of it. Unfortunately, they had to return for dinner much too soon.

That night, Susan went to Elizabeth's room full of questions.

She sat on the bed, "Okay, spill."

"What are you talking about?" asked Elizabeth, feigning confusion.

"Elizabeth Bennet, you know exactly what I am talking about! How do you know Mr. Darcy? What has happened between you? Do you like him? He is very dashing, and very successful."

Unwillingly, Elizabeth told her of everything that had happened since she met William Darcy, only leaving out the part of George Wickham and Georgiana. When she got to the part about when he told her he loved her, her aunt's eyes grew wide.

"He told you he loved you? Like that? And you told him what? Was it awkward when you saw him today?"

"You know, Aunt Susan, I would've thought it would be super awkward, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was rather uncomfortable at first, but as the day went on I really enjoyed being around him. He is much more relaxed and a lot nicer here in his own element. And I love seeing him interact with his sister. He seems like the best big brother."

"It seems as if you might like him after all," began Susan.

Lizzy blushed. "I don't know if I do or not!"

"Well, time will tell. We have three months after all." A few minutes later, she left Lizzy alone. Unfortunately, the younger girl had too many thoughts going through her head to get any sleep.

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	11. Chapter 11

chapter 11

The next morning, a very grumpy Lizzy got out of bed and took a shower to wake herself up. Her aunt came in when she was drying her hair.

"Lizzy, guess what!"

"Hmm?" Lizzy's mood hadn't improved much since she'd gotten out of the shower.

"The men are working this morning, but when they're done we're going to ride out to the countryside for a picnic! Doesn't that sound like a blast?"

"Sure." Lizzy murmured as she brushed the rats out of her hair.

"Don't sound so enthusiastic." said her aunt sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night. Too much going on in my head."

"Thinking about a certain someone?" Susan smirked.

"Maybe," Elizabeth confessed. "I'm worried that after the way I spoke to him when we were in Kent, he won't like me anymore. Aunt Susan, I was terrible! I've never talked to anyone like that in my life! It's amazing he even let me in his house."

"Elizabeth Bennet, you listen to me. I saw his eyes light up when he saw you. I see the way he looks at you when you're occupied elsewhere. His feelings have not changed, I can promise you that."

"I don't believe you. But even then, he still ruined Jane's happiness. What am I supposed to do about that? Just ignore it?"

"Not ignore it, but forgive it. He made a mistake and from what you told me he regrets the moves that he made. Now, there is nothing to do but forgive him. He's only human, Lizzy."

"You're probably right. But we don't even know how he really feels. I guess we'll just have to see what happens in the next few months."

Lizzy and her aunt spent the morning writing emails to friends and family and then they dressed for the picnic. Despite it being summer, England was still rather chilly so Elizabeth dressed in jeans and a blouse with a light black jacket. Elizabeth, Susan, and Georgiana then gathered in the living room to watch TV while they waited for the men to finish their work.

Finally, the men made their way downstairs.

"My goodness! You ladies take forever to get ready!" exclaimed Darcy with a fake English accent, winking at Elizabeth. He was wearing slacks with a collard shirt, impeccably dressed as always.

"On the contrary, sir," she retorted in the same bad accent. "I'm pretty positive we have been waiting on you lovely gentlemen!"

"Well, we sincerely apologize. Now, why don't we head out? Mrs. Reynolds packed us a delicious picnic lunch and the cars are waiting."

The group of five made their way to outside where two cars were waiting. Heath was chauffeuring the first car and the second car was an Italian sports car.

Alex whistled. "That is one snazzy car there! I assume that's yours Darcy?"

"Yes sir. As a matter of fact, I was planning to take Elizabeth for a drive. What do you think?" He asked, turning to Elizabeth.

"I-I, umm sure!" she finally choked out. She nervously glanced at her aunt as the five climbed into the cars.

"Have you ever ridden in one of these?" asked William. "They're extremely fast and super fun to drive."

"I've only seen one of these in pictures." She laughed. "We don't exactly have cars like these where I come from. Is it very hard to drive a manual transmission?"

"You'd think it would be, but once you get the hang of it it's not hard at all. I actually learned how to drive a stick shift before an automatic. I'll have to teach you sometime. But anyway," he decided to shift the conversation. "What have you been up to lately Elizabeth?"

"Oh you know, just school. Boring stuff. I got to see my family for the first time in awhile last week, so that was fun."

"What's your family like?" Darcy wanted to find out as much information about her as possible.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't like them. They don't have very good manners and they're probably below you." Darcy raised his eyebrows at that. "As you already know, both of my parents are teachers. My dad is easily distracted and loves to learn. He's not around very often, but the two of us are very close. We have similar personalities so it's easy to get along. He has gotten to the point where he just ignores my mother because she is so ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?"

"Don't get me wrong, cause I love her to death, but the only way to describe her is silly. She's great with her students and knows what she's teaching, but when it comes to raising five daughters she doesn't have any idea what she's doing. Her main concern is marrying all five of us off to wealthy men. It drives me crazy! Especially because the only reason I would marry anyone would be for love." She blushed at what she just unintentionally said.

"Any prospects?" asked Darcy.

"I don't know," she whispered.

Darcy could sense how uncomfortable she was and decided to change the subject again. "Tell me about your sisters."

"Well, you already know Jane, so I won't talk much about her. She's my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without her. Mary is a year younger than me. She is a straight 'A' student and very full of herself. Unfortunately, her brains impair her social skills. She thinks she's better than everyone else, so she has few friends. She is a sweetheart, though, when she's not trying to one up you.

Kitty is seventeen and is a mess. If she didn't hang around with my youngest sister so much, I don't think she would be so bad. She and Lydia are consumed with boys, clothes, and makeup. Their favorite shows are those reality shows that are painful to watch, like Jersey Shore. I wish they would realize how much potential they have-that if they would apply themselves they could do so much more. I worry about Lydia doing something drastic, like running off to get married. Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I've probably told you more than you want to know."

"Actually, I'm very glad you felt like you could share with me. Elizabeth, you may still feel the same way as you did-that day, but I want you to know that you can trust me."

Elizabeth looked down at her hands. "Thank you. I do trust you."

Conversation dwindled after that, but a few minutes later they had arrived at their destination. It was a beautiful field outside of town and Lizzy was amazed. It was so lush and green and she resisted the urge to lay in the grass. Instead, she helped the others set up the blankets and lay out the food.

Mrs. Reynolds packed them a simple lunch containing turkey and ham sandwiches, potato salad, fruit, and chips. They each grabbed a plate and a drink before sitting on one of the blankets.

"Uncle Alex, I'm curious as to how you and William know each other." It was something Lizzy had been asking herself since they'd arrived.

"Well, Mr. Darcy called me in January and said that he wanted to hire me as a consultant for the trading company. He had somehow heard of me and thought that I would be a good fit for the company."

"I had been told your uncle does good work, and I have been wanting to redistribute some of the work among my employees. I thought he could give me an expert opinion."

"So where did you hear about him?" Lizzy thought something was a little fishy.

"I don't really remember. Probably one of my business partners. Georgiana, will you pass me a coke?" He called, hoping to change the subject.

Truth was, he had hired someone to learn about Lizzy's family. He wanted to know her and find a way to see her again. He figured if he told her, she would get extremely creeped out.

"Ladies, what are you planning to do the rest of the week while we poor men are stuck in an office?" asked Darcy.

"Well, we thought about going to London Bridge, Birmingham Palace, and Big Ben," answered Mrs. Gardner.

"I'd rather go to the Tower of London and Shakespeare's Globe Theater," suggested Lizzy, "and I really want to go to Westminster Abbey."

"I agree with Lizzy on Westminster Abbey," Georgiana chipped in, "but I'd also like to go to the Palace. Although I have a feeling we can do all of that and more."

"Yep. Georgie's right. You ladies have all week to do that. I have a suggestion, though." The others looked at him expectantly. "Next weekend, all of us should go to Ireland. I've heard it's beautiful this time of year."

"Can we really?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I've always wanted to go to Ireland!"

"Of course. You guys are here for three months. We can travel all over Europe if you'd like. Where all do you want to go, Lizzy?"

"I've always wanted to go to Paris for a few weeks. I want to go to all of the museums there, and the shopping of course!"

"Will, can we go to Germany? It's so well known for its music!" begged Georgiana.

"Personally, I'd like to go to Rome." Susan gave her input.

Darcy laughed. "I'm sure we can find time for all of those places! Alex and I will have to work quite a bit, of course, but I'm sure we can work something out. What do you think about all of us going to Paris at the end of the month for a couple of weeks? Then maybe we can go to Rome in the middle of July and Germany in August. You ladies can take side trips if you'd like. Of course, I'd prefer you take one of our menservants to keep guard."

"You sound so formal when you say 'menservants,' like you came out of the 1800s," laughed Georgiana.

"I will take that as a compliment," said Darcy, with a sideways glance at Elizabeth. "Would anyone like to play frisbee or something?"

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing games and relaxing in the bit of sun that had popped out. Elizabeth loved seeing William in such a relaxed atmosphere. It made her wonder even more if she'd been wrong in her assessment of his character. She was still guarded, however, because she wouldn't let herself forget what he had done to her sister.

The next week was spent sightseeing, as planned, along with a little bit of shopping. The girls wanted to see as much as they could, so they spent little time relaxing. William and Alex joined them as often as they were able, but they were faced with urgent business matters that usually couldn't be left alone. That Friday they were finally able to fly to Ireland. They went to

Dublin and to the countryside. Elizabeth's favorite thing they did was look at all the castles. They were so large and beautiful. She loved to think of the royalty that had once resided there. That Sunday, they were forced to leave, as the men had to get back to work.

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	12. Chapter 12

chapter 12

As the month of June went by, they spent a lot of time in London, experiencing it like the locals. The ladies took a week long trip to Spain. Finally, Lizzy got her wish to go to France.

They flew to the continent the last week of June and Lizzy could hardly contain herself. Darcy loved watching her squirm with excitement. She was constantly looking out the window of the airplane, reminding him of Georgiana on her first trip to the ocean. They finally landed and went to their hotel.

The hotel was very beautiful and elegant, not what Elizabeth had expected. She had heard the rooms were small and not very comfortable, but their rooms were very large and well decorated with incredible views. She assumed that Mr. Darcy had only the best.

"Aunt Susan, can we go ahead and leave now?" asked Lizzy, anxious to get out in the city.

"Lizzy, we haven't even put our bags down yet! What's the hurry?"

"The hurry is that we have a week to see the most spectacular city in the world!"

"That's quite the assumption, considering you haven't even seen the city," chipped in Mr. Darcy as he stood in the doorway. "Nonetheless, I agree with you. It's one of my favorite places in the world. Where would you three like to start? We can go to the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees, Notre Dome, the Seine River..."

"The Louvre!" cried Elizabeth. "I have to see Monet's artwork!"

"Monet is my favorite artist too," Darcy said in surprise, "but I think that we should save the Louvre for when we have all day to sit and stare at the masterpieces."

"I suppose," she agreed. "Well, Georgiana, you pick. Where do you want to go?"

Georgiana decided on the Eiffel Tower, so they went with the intent of climbing it. Everyone had the best intentions of climbing to the top, but by the time they got there, everyone had chickened out except for Darcy and Elizabeth. So the two started to make their way up. When they finally reached the top, Elizabeth could only stare in silence. Darcy was in the same situation, but he was looking at her.

"It's incredible," she breathed. "I've never seen the world from this angle before. It makes you feel so small and insignificant doesn't it?"

Darcy finally took his eyes off his companion and turned them towards the city below. "It is very humbling. Reminds us that we have a Creator that wants to take care of us, and in comparison to our God, we are nothing. Sure makes me think of His love for me."

Lizzy turned to him, a look of serenity on her face. "You know, William, I like you like this. You're so calm and relaxed, not uptight like you have been in the past. I really appreciate it."

"Well, then I'm glad you've gotten to see this side of me. I'd hate to think that you would see me as some terrible, uppity, no-good socialite that didn't care a thing about anybody else."

"To be quite honest, that's exactly what I thought you were. But I was wrong. Please forgive me."

"Of course," Darcy moved in to kiss her, but at the last moment, she turned away. She didn't think she wanted that. He was too good for her. First he's not good enough for me, and now he's too good, she thought. Go figure.

They returned back to the ground in silence. Darcy angry with himself for making her uncomfortable, and Lizzy angry with herself for turning away from the kiss. They had a nice long dinner before heading back to the hotel and to bed.

The next morning, Lizzy made sure that everyone was up bright and early. It was their day to go to the Louvre. They had a quick breakfast of fruit and toast before heading out to face the day. Lizzy walked into the Louvre and her mouth was hanging wide open. She was surrounded by the most incredible artwork ever created by man. Darcy watched her stare in wonder for hours at the paintings. The paintings were beautiful, but they didn't capture his interest the way her face had.

Hours after they'd arrived, the Gardners and Georgiana were hungry, so they left Darcy with Lizzy and went to get food. Rather than disturbing Lizzy with conversation, Darcy was content to sit next to her and try to figure out what she was thinking. For the most part, he could read it on her face. She would cock her head to one side when she didn't understand the reasoning behind the painting. Lizzy would bite her lip when she was scrutinizing it and scrunch her nose when she didn't like it. Darcy's favorite expression was the look of wonder that graced her face when she thought a painting beautiful. Her eyes would light up and her lips would turn into a slight smile. This happened multiple times, but mainly with Monet and Rembrandt.

The next few days were spent touring cathedrals and other tourist attractions. Lizzy's favorite, in addition to the Louvre, was the Mussee d'Orsay. It was full of Monet's paintings and she would sit for an hour in front of a single painting. Her aunt, uncle, and Georgiana didn't like her very much for making her go to yet another museum, but it was not an opportunity she was willing to give up.

On the sixth day of their two week trip, the group was talking in the sitting room in the Gardner's suite. They were laughing and drinking wine while enjoying each other's company when Lizzy got a phone call. Surprised, Lizzy went into the other room to talk to the caller. Five minutes later, Lizzy walked out of the room, eyes red and puffy, before letting out a sob and rushing back into the bedroom. Darcy stood up in concern, about to rush in and demand what was the matter, when Lizzy walked back out.

"My mom-" she sobbed, "my mom has been diagnosed with cancer."

The group could only stare openmouthed.

"She was diagnosed this morning. It's stage four and they don't- they don't think she'll l-live through the n-next month."

Darcy was the first to recover. "Then we must get you home as fast as we can. Georgiana, call the front desk and have them reserve the soonest flight back to the States. Mrs. Gardner, I assume you want to return as well? Mr. Gardner, if you want to head back then that can be arranged."

Mrs. Gardner had gathered herself enough to speak. "Mr. Darcy, you have been much too kind to us. I would like to go back and help my sister if she needs it. I'll go start packing right now. Alex, I won't need you there with me. In fact, I think you would be miserable if you were there. Stay here."

She followed Lizzy into the bedroom to throw everything into a suitcase. Georgiana had found a flight that was leaving in three hours, so they quickly caught a cab and headed to the airport. Before they said goodbye to their host and hostess, it was decided that Darcy would ship the rest of their bags that were still at his London townhouse.

Lizzy decided to say goodbye to Georgiana first. "Georgie, I'm so glad we've become such good friends. You are such an incredible girl and I really hope we'll stay in touch. Email me?"

Georgiana nodded before giving her friend a tight hug. "I'll be praying for you guys. She'll get better, I just know it."

Elizabeth then moved on to her uncle, willing herself not to cry as he pulled her into a big bear hug. "Hang in there sweetheart. It's going to turn out just fine."

Finally, she made herself say goodbye to Darcy. "William, thank you so much for everything you've done for us on this trip. You have been nothing but kind and it has really meant a lot. I'm so glad I've gotten to know you- to really know you. Please believe that."

"You make it sound as if I'll never see you again," he said as he hugged her.

"I don't think you will," she whispered as she put her head against his shoulder.

"I'll see you again," he declared. "I promise."

With that, Lizzy and her aunt boarded the plane, fearing the new set of challenges awaiting them.

Hours later, they were in the airport looking for Mr. Bennet. When they finally found him, Lizzy was terrified by his appearance. It looked as if he had aged twenty years since she last saw him. His hair had whitened significantly and there were more wrinkles around his eyes. It appeared that he hadn't eaten for days and he looked utterly exhausted. Elizabeth ran to him and fell sobbing in his arms. She was making a scene, but at that point she didn't care.

Father and daughter stood there for a few minutes, crying with each other, until Lizzy was finally able to get a handle on her emotions. Susan had gone to get the bags, and returned as they had broken apart, each wiping their eyes.

"How is Mom doing?" Elizabeth croaked, her throat scratchy from crying.

"She hanging in there. She really wants to see you, although she is very disappointed that you cut your trip short. I have to warn you, Elizabeth, she doesn't look good."

"I figured as much. Can we go see her?"

"Of course. But first we'll drop your aunt off at her house and take your bags home. Your mother is sleeping right now anyway."

Two hours later, Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth were walking into Mrs. Bennet's hospital room.

"Lizzy!" her mom cried, reaching for a hug. "You really shouldn't have cut your trip short. It sounded as if you were having a blast, and I'm sure there were all sorts of men to meet there. Your old mom is doing fine."

"Oh, I can tell," replied Elizabeth sarcastically as she gave her mother a hug. Her mom already looked wane and thin. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was hooked up to a bunch of monitors. Lizzy turned to give Jane and Mary hugs, as they had been staying with their mom while their dad went to pick up Lizzy and Susan.

"Where are Kitty and Lydia?" asked Elizabeth.

"Kitty is at a friend's house," answered her father.

"And Lydia? Shouldn't they both be here?"

"Well, we have another surprise for you," started Jane. She took Elizabeth out into the hall to not upset their mother. "Lydia ran off and got married."

"I'm sorry- what?" Lizzy cried. "I didn't even know she was dating anybody! When? Where? Who?"

Jane wouldn't look her in the eyes. "She called us yesterday from Vegas. Lydia had told Dad that she was going to the beach with a friend and her family, but obviously she lied. I guess they were married at some chapel in Vegas."

"Okay, yeah, I figured as much, but who did she marry?"

"George Wickham," whispered Jane.

Elizabeth could think of nothing to say. She could only stare at her sister openmouthed.

"Apparently they've been dating for the last two months."

"But, what would he want with her? She has nothing to give him. And she's only fifteen! Is that even legal?"

"I don't know how they did it and I don't know why they did it, but apparently they did. Lydia wants to come home and see Mama, but I'm not sure that Dad will let her. Mom couldn't decide if she was excited or angry, so Dad didn't think it would be good to mess with her emotions again."

"Jane, this is terrible! George is not the person we thought he was! Oh my goodness, what are we going to do?"

"Lizzy, there's nothing we can do. They're already married."

Lizzy was distraught. If she had of told her family about George Wickham, then nothing would have happened. Her youngest sister would still be making a fool out of herself in high school, not married to this immoral jerk. She thought about what Jane said, that there was nothing they could do now, and she resigned herself to the fact. There were worse things to consider at the moment.

"How is Mom doing? Really?"

"Not well, Lizzy. Not well at all. They're not sure if she'll make it through the week." Jane's eyes filled with tears. "She's so hopeful, but the rest of us can't see how she'll be healed. Of course, we know that God is perfectly capable of miracles, but it's so hard to believe that. The doctors said that neither radiation nor chemotherapy will help, but they're trying it anyway. The worst part is that there is some new treatment she could try, but our insurance won't cover it and it's ten times more than both of our parents' annual salaries combined."

"Insurance won't cover it?" asked Elizabeth, distraught over the fact that something could be done and they couldn't afford it.

"No. And of course Dad wants to go ahead and take out a loan or something, but Mom won't let him. She says that they have to support us somehow. I don't know what they're going to do."

They returned back to the hospital room and sat with their mother. Lizzy kept them interested with stories about her trip to Europe and answered a lot of questions. She told the family everything, except she left out Mr. Darcy and Georgiana. It made her sad to think of the friends she had to say goodbye to. The sisters went home when visiting hours were over, but Mr. Bennet had gained permission to stay with his wife. They picked up Kitty before going to their house and climbing into bed. Lizzy was suffering from jet lag and the others were emotionally exhausted spent after the week they had faced.

The next morning, Lizzy and Jane scrubbed the house from top to bottom because it hadn't been done since their mom had fallen ill. When they were done, they showered dressed and returned to the hospital.

When they arrived, their parents' faces were glowing with happiness and their eyes shining with tears.

"Mom, Dad, what happened?" cried Lizzy.

"A miracle has happened, Lizzy." her dad responded quietly.

"A miracle?" asked Jane.

"Someone had come forward anonymously and is going to pay for your mother's treatment. We're going to be okay," her dad cried, "we're going to be okay."

The family came together in a hug, tears in all of their eyes. They were so concerned with each other, that they failed to notice a man with sunglasses and a baseball cap, peeking through window in the hallway.


	13. Chapter 13

chapter 13

Jane and Elizabeth spent the next several weeks taking care of their family. They cooked and cleaned for the younger girls and visited their mom as much as possible. Eventually, their mom was able to return home. Thanks to the new treatment, she was doing much better. The cancer was still at stage four, but she was feeling better than she had been and the cancer was slowly going away.

It was now the middle of August and the girls were packing to go back to school. Elizabeth had just zipped up one of her suitcases when she heard a knock on the front door.

"Jane!" called Kitty, "You have a visitor!"

Both Jane and Elizabeth walked into the living room to find Charley Bingley talking with their mother.

"Charley," choked out Jane, "what are you doing here?"

"Jane, I am so sorry," he went over and took her hands. "I should never have left you. Will you forgive me?"

Jane, always quick to forgive, nodded.

"Thank you, Jane, I don't deserve it," Charley pulled her into a hug. "Will you go for a drive with me?"

Jane agreed and the two set out, leaving Elizabeth to explain the relationship to Mrs. Bennet.

"Elizabeth Bennet, what the heck was that about?" demanded Mrs. Bennet.

"Mom, that is Charley Bingley. We went to his house for Christmas, remember?"

"Oh! I had completely forgotten about that. What did she forgive him for?"

Lizzy had to explain that he left to go to another school and work for a friend, leaving Jane behind. She was surprised that her mother didn't know this already, but it wasn't unlike her to ignore her daughters. She was rather scatterbrained and would often forget the stories her daughters had tried to tell her.

Finally, Elizabeth was able to return to her room to finish her packing. All she had left was her shoes and her makeup. The girl didn't have a lot of money, but when she did have money she spent it on shoes, most of which she took with her to college. She was lugging the bag outside when a man stepped out of a nice black car.

"Here, let me help you with that."

In her surprise, Elizabeth dropped the bag and her shoes spilled out.

"William?"

The man smiled. "Elizabeth. I told you I would see you again."

She rushed into his embrace. "I'm so happy to see you! What are you doing here?"

He relished the feeling of having her in his arms. "I wanted to see you. And I brought Bingley here to fix some mistakes," he laughed, "I wanted to come in and see you, but I couldn't get up the nerve. I was sitting in my car trying convince myself that you would want to see me."

"Of course I wanted to see you!" she looked up into his eyes. "I was so sad to leave you- and Georgiana of course."

They broke the embrace and headed to the house. "How is your mother doing?" inquired Darcy.

"Oh, William, you wouldn't believe it!" exclaimed Elizabeth. "When I got home, Mom was doing horribly. None of the treatments were working but there was one we could try, but insurance wouldn't cover it. We didn't know what we were going to do, because we couldn't afford it, but then some stranger paid for it. Can you believe that?"

"What a miracle," he murmured.

"Isn't it though! I just wish I could know who did it, so that I can properly thank him. I do wonder how they knew she was sick. And why us? It's as if they knew who we were. One of the nurses said he was a successful businessman and that the money was to specifically go to our family and no one else." She thought aloud as they stood on the front porch.

Darcy shifted uncomfortably, causing her to look at him. She gasped. "You- you didn't do it, did you?"

He looked at her. "It was supposed to be a secret."

"I-I don't know what to say," she burst into tears and Darcy moved to hold her. "You- you saved my family! And you don't e-even know th-them."

"Shhh," William tried to quiet her. "Elizabeth, I did it for you."

"What?"

"All I wanted was for you to be happy. I didn't do it for your family. I did it to protect you and your happiness."

"I don't understand."

"Elizabeth, my affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have, bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."

In response, Lizzy leaned up on her tip toes and kissed him. Darcy responded gently, his fingers resting on her face as he deepened the kiss. All too soon, Lizzy pulled away.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he smiled.

They kissed again, but were interrupted by Mrs. Bennet at the door.

"Lizzy are you oka- Umm who is this?" she asked with a confused smirk on her face.

Darcy stepped forward, his hand outstretched.

"I'm William Darcy. It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Bennet."

"I've never heard of you," she looked at Elizabeth, "Lizzy, why haven't you told me about Mr. Darcy? He's so handsome, and obviously wealthy. You don't think him important enough to tell me about?" She was talking as if he weren't there and her words embarrassed Lizzy.

"Umm, well, I," Lizzy couldn't think of an answer and she could feel Darcy's eyes on her wondering the same thing. "It's complicated."

"Well, the two of you are obviously interested in each other. Mr. Darcy, why don't you come in and the two of you can tell me how you met."

"Actually, I have to get going," Darcy said. Lizzy could see it in his eyes that he was hurt that she hadn't mentioned him to her family. "I have a business meeting. I just wanted to see Lizzy for a moment."

"I'll walk you to your car," Lizzy murmured.

"It was nice to meet you!" cried Mrs. Bennet. "Please come over again. We'd love to have you for dinner."

"William, will you come back?"

"I don't know Elizabeth. Do you want me to come back? Because I obviously don't mean enough for you to tell your family about me." His eyes were cold and she could see the hurt and confusion.

"That's not fair," she started.

"You don't think? If somethings important to somebody, they usually tell those closest to them. This just makes it clear that I'm not that important."

"Wow. You know, you sound like a real baby. Did you ever stop to think that before Europe, we weren't exactly on friendly terms? And after Europe, my mother was dying? It wasn't exactly the time for me to tell them that I had fallen in love." Elizabeth was angry now. "Not to mention that my youngest sister eloped with none other than George Wickham."

Darcy paled. "I'm sorry. What?"

"You heard me. George Wickham. My father is furious, so I figured that romance of any sort was a bad conversation topic."

"She eloped? With George Wickham? At fifteen?"

"Yeah. So sorry that I didn't tell my family about you. I had bigger things on my mind." She turned and stalked toward her house, but was stopped when Darcy grabbed hold of her arm.

"You're right, Lizzy. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me? For Jane and Bingley. For your sister marrying Wickham? For getting angry at you?"

"For my sister marrying George? How on earth is that your fault?"

"I should have gotten him in trouble for the things he's done. He should be in jail right now, but instead he is a part of your family."

Elizabeth grabbed hold of his face. "William Darcy, you listen to me. Their marriage is not your fault. He was unscrupulous but there was nothing you could have done about it. Lydia's a fool and has gotten her into this mess. In the meantime, you have brought my sister and Charley back together. And we're together now."

"You're right." He kissed her. "Now, let's go inside and see your mother."

The two went into the house and sat on the couch with Elizabeth's mother. They told her about everything except for Lizzy's last day in Kent. They had just finished finishing their story about Paris, when Jane and Bingley walked in, both radiant.

"Jane, what happened?" cried Lizzy.

"We're engaged!" squealed Jane, showing off the beautiful diamond engagement ring on her left ring finger.

Elizabeth jumped off the couch to look at the ring. "Oh my goodness! Charley, it's stunning!"

"Tell me all about it!" cried Mrs. Bennet.

"It's simple really. Charley and I went for a drive, like we told you. I didn't think we were going anywhere specific, but he took me to a little park. We went and sat on a bench, and then he got down on one knee and proposed."

Mr. Bennet walked in the room at the last part.

"So Jane said yes," he stated. "Congratulations, you two."

"You knew about it?" cried all three women at the same time. The men just stood there smiling.

"Yes. Mr. Bingley came with Mr. Darcy to ask for my blessing and I gave it to them. I do have to ask, though, what are your plans? Jane is still in college and I would like for her to continue."

"Have you decided on a wedding date?" Mrs. Bennet cut in.

"Well, we are hoping to get married in June. That will give us about eight months to plan the wedding. I am working at Darcy's company in Texas, so we'll move out there. Jane will be able to continue her studies at the same school."

"Perfect!" cried Mr. Bennet.

Their two guests stayed for dinner but didn't stay late because Mrs. Bennet tired easily. The family went to bed early, but Lizzy and Jane stayed up late into the night giggling over the events of the day.

The next morning, Elizabeth took special care getting ready. Darcy had said he was going to take her somewhere special and she wanted to look her best. She curled her hair and applied her makeup perfectly before putting on her nicest pair of jeans with a pink flowing blouse. She was putting on her nude heels when the doorbell rang. She ran to the door and opened it to Darcy, dressed in his usual outfit of slacks and a collared shirt.

"Hello," she kissed him. "Do you own a pair of jeans?" she teased.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I just don't like to wear them unless I'm in a very relaxed situation."

"This isn't a relaxed situation?" asked Lizzy as they made their way to his car. "I want you to be real with me, and I'm pretty sure that means being relaxed around each other."

"Then I'll make sure and wear jeans next time," laughed Darcy.

"Where are we headed?" asked Lizzy.

"We are going to the lake," said Darcy. "We'll go out on a yacht I've rented."

They spent the next half hour in the car talking, catching up on the last couple of weeks. Finally, they reached the marina. Darcy got out of the car and opened the door for Elizabeth. He then got three bags out of the car before heading to a large yacht. Mr. Darcy handed Lizzy up before hopping on top himself.

"Wow, this is something," said Lizzy as she took in the opulence of the boat.

"Why don't you go up on the top deck? And here's a jacket, it might get a little chilly. I'm going to talk to the crew and then I'll meet you up there."

Lizzy did as he suggested and sat in a chair, enjoying the sunny day. She put her sunglasses on because it was so bright, but put her coat on because of the wind chill. She was soon joined by Darcy, who followed by a steward carrying a tray of fruit and a couple of glasses full of water.

"William, you spoil me."

"I love to spoil those that I love." He kissed her soundly on the lips before sitting in the seat next to her.

They spent the day sunbathing and talking, and sometimes dozing, as they sailed around the lake. Elizabeth loved the wind blowing her hair and the sun on her face. They snacked on fruits and crackers and cheeses throughout the day, but eventually Elizabeth began to get hungry.

"What's for dinner? I'm starving."

"It's a surprise. It'll be served up here on deck, but first you have to go change."

"Go change? I didn't bring anything to change into."

"Jane packed you a bag. It's below deck. It should have everything you'll need. I'll meet you back up here in an hour?"

The two went downstairs together, but separated as they went to change. Lizzy went into a small bedroom and found a garment bag and a small duffel bag. Inside the duffel bag was everything she would need to shower and get ready, along with a pair of black Christian Louboutin heels.

"What on earth?" she asked herself aloud. "These aren't mine!" She put them on and they were her size. She unzipped the garment bag to find a black cocktail dress she had never seen before, in her size. Immediately she knew. "Darcy."

She quickly showered, dried her hair, and did her makeup before putting on the short black dress. It was some designer label and she knew it cost a fortune. She put on the heels that she had been coveting for the last few years and headed back up on the deck.

Her mouth dropped when she reached the top. A table had been set up with a white tablecloth and candles and roses as the centerpiece. Darcy was standing next to it, looking very debonair in a black suit.

"Elizabeth, you look stunning," he breathed as he moved to kiss her.

"You look rather dashing yourself," she gasped, out of breath from the passionate kiss. "William, this is too much. The boat, the table, the dress and the shoes. You can't do this all the time."

"Maybe not, but I will do my best."

A steward came to the table carrying two caesar salads that the two quickly ate. The salad was followed by Elizabeth's favorite meal: steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

"This is my favorite meal!" she exclaimed. "How did you know?"

"Jane told me. She also told me the sizes you would need."

"You are the sweetest man I have ever met."

"And you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met."

She blushed and moved the conversation to something else. As they finished their meal, Elizabeth noticed that Darcy was growing quieter. As the steward served their dessert, he was nearly silent.

"William, is something wrong? You're really quiet all of a sudden."

"You know what, Lizzy? Everything is perfect-absolutely perfect. It's so perfect, because you are the one sitting next to me. And the thing is, I want it to stay that way forever. I'm happiest when I am with you and I love you. You are the most incredible girl, full of life and energy. You care so much for your friends and your family, with little thought to yourself. You are an incredible woman and I have learned so much from you."

"William-"

"Elizabeth Bennet, will you marry me?" he asked as he pulled out the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

"William, still don't know each other that well. We aren't even officially dating. I don't know-"

"Elizabeth. I know that we've had trouble in the past. I know that we haven't known each other long, and I know that this is our first real date. But I also know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you?"

"Yes," she cried. "A thousand times yes!" Tears streamed down her face as her new fiance slipped the ring on her finger. The ring was a 2 carat round-cut diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds on a platinum band. "It's so beautiful."

"So are you," he kissed her passionately.

They knew that they needed to go back home and tell their family, but the two couldn't tear themselves away from the romantic setting. Instead, they spent the rest of the evening planning their future. They couldn't wait to spend forever together.


End file.
